A dad has spoken of how his life was turned upside down when what he thought was a sore throat was diagnosed as cancer.

David Wainberg, 43, from east Hull, went to the doctors with a persistent swollen gland and sore throat in May this year.

But, he and his young family were left devastated when he was told he actually had cancer of the throat and neck.

Since then, he has battled through bouts of chemotherapy and radiotherapy with his wife, Katie, and the couple's three young children by his side.

David, who originally went to the GP after the lump on his glands didn’t go away for a few weeks, said: “I didn’t think anything of it because it seemed perfectly normal.

"I thought it was just a sore throat.”

The initial tests came back showing no abnormalities but David was diagnosed with the cancer after a second set of scans.

Following months of gruelling treatment, he is now on the last stages of his treatment at Castle Hill Hospital's Queen's Centre and is hoping to have the "best present ever" if he is given the all clear by this Christmas.

(Image: Katie Shepherdson)

And he spoke of his determination to remain upbeat and positive throughout alongside his children, Chloe, six, Nathaniel, three, and Jacob, one.

He said: “You just keep going really and deal with it.

"Also, we’ve got a young family so we get everyone involved. The kids are too nosy not to know what’s going on.

“The support and generosity we’ve had is phenomenal. Everyone from family, friends and work colleagues have been so generous.

"Macmillan Cancer Support have been amazing and have gone above and beyond.”

His partner, Katie Shepherdson, 26, told how "difficult" things have been for the family lately, but spoke of how family and friends pulled together to help them get through it.

She said the support shown to them, particularly at Castle Hill, has been “on another level.”

This month, Katie has been helping support Macmillan Cancer Support. She raised funds from sponsors who dared her to ‘brave the shave’ - a fundraiser where those wanting to raise money shave off their hair.

Not only can you donate money to Macmillan, but you can also donate your hair to The Little Princess Trust, which Katie has done.

Katie shaved off 22 inches of her hair. Her sister, who is 21, also shaved hers in support of her.

(Image: Katie Sheperdson)

(Image: Katie Shepherdson)

Originally setting a target of £200 in donations, Katie smashed that and raised £1,200. She said: “Everyone was amazing. I just shared it on Facebook. I’m taken aback by everyone.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t been affected by cancer.”

David’s older brother, Mark, has also taken part in Brave the Shave and will be donating his long locks to The Little Princess charity.

Mark said he hasn’t had short hair since 1987 and explained that David ‘only went for a routine check-up before he was diagnosed.’

He said: “It’s not very nice. Obviously they’ve got the kids too but they explained what was happening in a really nice way.

“Something like this just makes you reassess everything really.”

David and Katie are looking forward to spending some time together once David reaches the end of his treatment in a couple of weeks. Unable to eat at the moment, David said he was looking forward to tucking into some steak and Mexican food.

Hopefully David will have the all clear for Christmas. Katie said: “He works in a casino so we never really see him over Christmas anyway but it will be nice to celebrate.”

David said: “I know it’s a cliché but it would be the best Christmas present.”